All About Royal Families

From 14 till 16 March 2023, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium will travel to Egypt. Which is the Belgian royal  history and connection to Egypt?  On November 22, 1922, Howard Carter discovered an undisturbed pharaoh's tomb in the Valley of the Kings, on the west bank of the Nile, in Luxor. As soon as the news reached Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, she decided to go there to take part in the opening of Tutankhamun's hypogeum, more than three thousand years after it was sealed, theoretically for eternity. "I have always been a woman of passions. Some are well known, others less so. One is my passion for ancient Egypt," wrote Elisabeth; she proved it by promptly telegraphing Lord Carnarvon, the financier of the excavations, to ask if she could join him; permission was of course granted. When the Egyptian authorities learned that the Queen of the Belgians wanted to visit, King Fuad organized her visit with the help of the British High Com...

The life and travels of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) always have fascinated me, you can find lots of her travels on this link .  In Austria she felt restless and she always was very keen to be on her way to the most beautiful destinations. Following her footsteps  resulted in a never ending wishlist but from time to time it is a  surprise to visit places where Empress Elisabeth of Austria was before. I must admit: those places are true treasures. One of them is Elche , (also called Elx) in the province of Alicante in Spain. Elche Palm Trees picture taken in October 2022 Empress Elisabeth of Austria Source picture: Wikipedia   In 1894, Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) arrived at the port of Alicante . Then she traveled further to Elche, where she was shown an amazing garden.  Port of Alicante in Spain, October 2022 The Empress was very impressed when she looked at the palm tree. She suggested to give them her name. (Imperial Pal...

On 2 October 1800, Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg was born at Český Krumlov Castle (German: Böhmisch Krumau) in Bohemia. He was the second son of Prince Joseph of Schwarzenberg (1769–1833) and his wife Pauline of Arenberg.  His mother died in a fire during a ball on the occasion of Napoleon I's wedding to Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. One of his brothers was Archbishop Friedrich zu Schwarzenberg. Revolution Upon the outbreak of the 1848 Revolutions, he rushed to the Austrian Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia to join Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky defeating the Italian rebel forces of King Charles Albert of Sardinia in Milan. For his role as a close advisor to Radetzky, as well as his status as brother-in-law to Marshal Prince Alfred of Windisch-Grätz, who had suppressed the Czech "Whitsun Riot" in Prague and the Vienna Uprising in October, Schwarzenberg was appointed Austrian minister-president— the sixth within a year—and foreign minister on 21 November 1848. In these off...

21 August 1866 marks the birth of Archduke Franz Salvator of Austria. This took place at Altmünster Austria. Family He was a son of Archduke Karl Salvator, Prince of Tuscany and his wife Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon-Two-Sicilies.  Duty He was a cavalry general in the Imperial and Royal (k.u.k.) Austro-Hungarian Army. Love and Marriage He married first, in Ischl on 31 July 1890, Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (Ofen, 22 April 1868 – Schloss Wallsee, 6 September 1924), daughter of Franz Joseph I of Austria and wife Elisabeth in Bavaria. He became thus a son in law of the Emperor and Empress of Austria. Their children were: * Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Marie Karoline Ignatia Salvator (Vienna, 27 January 1892 – Schloss Syrgenstein, 29 January 1930), * Archduke Franz Carl Salvator Marie Joseph Ignaz (Lichtenegg, 17 February 1893 – Wallsee, 10 December 1918), * Archduke Hubert Salvator Rainer Maria Joseph Ignatius (Lichtenegg, 30 April 1894 – Schloss Persenbeug, 24 Marc...

While I was waiting on the Christmas cards 2021 - I thought about the postal service in the past. Who took care of the royal correspondence? Immediately I came to  the family Thurn und Taxis. Who is the family Thurn und Taxis? The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis is a family of German nobility that is part of the Briefadel. It was a key player in the postal services in Europe during the 16th. century until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It became well  known as the owner of breweries and builder of many castles. History? The Tasso family was a Lombard family in the area of Bergamo. Omodeo Tasso organized 32 of his relatives into the Company of Couriers and linked Milan to Venice and Rome.  In 1443, Ruggiero de Tassis was named to the court of Emperor Frederick the Peaceful . He organized a post system between Bergamo and Vienna by 1450; from Innsbruck to Italy and Styria around 1460; and Vienna with Brussels by 1480.  Ruggiero was knighted and made a gent...

Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria was born on 4 December 1808 at Bamberg.  Family He was the only son of Duke Pius August in Bavaria (1786-1837) and his wife Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg. He was a member of the junior branch of the royal House of Wittelsbach. Love and Marriage On 9 September 1828, at Tegernsee in Bavaria, a royal wedding took  place. Then Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria married Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. She was the sixth daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, his father's cousin. Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika would have 10 children. He was the father of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Sisi) and the grandfather of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. Duty In 1834 he purchased Possenhoven Castle on Lake Starnberg. This became his major residence for the rest of his life.  In 1838 Maximilian Joseph travelled to Egypt and Palestine. While climbing the Great Pyramid he arranged for his servants to yodel as if they were...